Like many, my first interaction with The Starting Line was with their first EP released on We The People. They were then snapped up my Drive Thru and released a cracker of a first record, full of youthful exuberance and cool pop-punk tunes with the emphasis on the pop. I wasn’t completely sold on the last record which showed a more mature side, so I approached this new (well, released this year anyway) record cautiously.
‘Direction’, as the album name hints at, veers away from the out and out pop the band had previously peddled, and instead focuses on meatier riffs and a more grown up vocal style. Kenny’s sound remains the same, but he’s a bit more aggressive in his delivery. The choruses are still catchy but possibly not overly so. And with the band chucking out riffs as they do on the opening ‘Direction’, you can tell they’re no longer a band content with just playing perky pop songs about girls.
That approach is possibly best show on ‘Are You Alone’, which chugs away in a manner the band have never really sounded before. Even the ballads are tender and not tucked on the end like most pop-punk bands. ‘Island’, infact, is one of the best tracks the band have written. And while I still yearn for the band to bust out ‘I’m Real’ and smile like they mean it, the meaner and moodier TSL isn’t too bad at all. Their last record faded away as time passed by, but I feel this one is enough of a grower to keep me interested.